Long before teaming with Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy starred with Billy Ruge in a series of comedies as "Plump and Runt." It was relatively short-lived, as they did 35 films together in 1915 and 1916, mainly one reels. It was the pinnacle of Ruge's career, and he disappeared from movies a few years later. Hardy moved on to bigger things (no pun intended).

In this short, Plump receives an announcement of a coming visit by a rich uncle. He can't wait to meet the beautiful wife and children Plump has boasted about. Plump panics, as he has no family and he recruits bellboy Runt to help him cover this up. The story gets a little bizzare as Runt resorts to kidnapping and child trafficking to achieve his ends. In one scene, Runt approaches a strange woman on the street and tells her to "rent me your baby." She hands the child over with a smile.

IMDb entry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0236553/


This movie is part of the collection: Silent Films

Director: Willard Louis
Production Company: Vim Comedy Corp.
Audio/Visual: silent, black and white
Keywords: silent; slapstick; plump and runt; billy ruge; oliver hardy

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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